The loading station in Gmunden

From the ship to the horse-drawn railway

The plans for the railway from Linz to Gmunden date back to 1814. Salt was transported from the Salzkammergut to Budweis from 1863. It was not yet clear whether a railway should be built or the Traun be regulated. After Franz Zola, the engineer of the Budweis railway, applied for a privilege to build and operate a timber and railway connecting the Danube and Gmunden am See in 1872. He founded the k.k. priv. Zolasche Eisenbahngesellschaft in 1827 - when he finally received the privilege. Due to a lack of building capital, Zola sold the privilege to Viennese private individuals, who allowed the privilege to lapse.

Negotiations were held with the Gmunden town council until 1842 to establish a railway connection to the Traunsee ships in order to load the cargo from the ship onto the wagons of the horse-drawn railway. The loading station on the town hall square was reached via the Traun bridge and the Traun gate.

As a wagon was only pulled by one horse, they were built to be as light as possible. The wheels were therefore mostly made of wood, as this made them lighter and allowed more freight to be loaded onto the goods wagons.